Update Your Contact Information

To ensure that you receive all association communications, please provide your cell phone number and your non-work email. We do not want to use your work email for association communications. Click Here To Update Your Contact Information

Since you are already online, now is the perfect time to add the following email addresses to your list of email contacts. That way you will ensure that you get all emails from CMAE.

• educatingcmae@gmail.com (Emails from CMAE President Lawrence Brinson, CMAE Secretary Lakisha Mills, and CMAE Bulletin)
• cmae.brinson@bellsouth.net or brinsonlawrence@gmail.com (Emails from President Lawrence Brinson)
• cmae.brown@bellsouth.net (Emails from CMAE Vice-President Margueritta Brown,)
• cmae.brenda@bellsouth.net (Emails from CMAE Treasurer Brenda Iyonmahan)
• cmaemills@yahoo.com (Emails from CMAE Secretary Lakisha Mills)
• cmae.ira@bellsouth.net (Emails from CMAE Administrative Assistant Ira Laverne Reed)
• latavia.mayfield@ncae.org (Emails from Latavia Goodwin – NCAE Department of Instructional Advocacy and Organizing.)

Not Getting Emails?

If you are not getting emails, the first thing to do is check your SPAM, Junk and Bulk email folders.

This, of course, depends on your Internet Service Provider or email Provider's folder designation for Spam and Junk email. Depending on your service provider, some emails are automatically deleted.

Next Mecklenburg NCAE Representative Assembly: Click the image to register your attendance.

C L I C K   T H E   G R A P H I C   T O   R E G I S T E R   Y O U R   A T T E N D A N C E .

Register now to celebrate the holidays with CMAE!

C L I C K   T H E   I M A G E   T O   R E G I S T E R   Y O U R   A T T E N D A N C E .

Beginning teachers: Spend GAME NIGHT with CMAE (Click the flyer below to RSVP)

C L I C K   T H E   F L Y E R   T O   R S V P   Y O U R   A T T E N D A N C E.

CMAE Shares Opportunity Checklist to CMS Title I Parent and Community Advisory Council

President Lawrence Brinson presented NEA’s Opportunity Checklist and Audit to the CMS Title I Parent and Community Engagement Advisory Council.

Dr. Fahnie Shaw, Director of Title I Family Engagement and Community Outreach, thanked President Brinson for “providing us with next-step tools to collect and utilize valuable data to better inform our advocacy and decision making!”

The intended outcomes of this work are:

• Creating family education and engagement opportunities and ideas that can be implemented within all Title I Schools beyond curriculum nights and student performances that meet the school improvement goals of the school that addresses the needs of MCV, EL, EC, and students in need of interventions and additional socio-emotional or academic supports.
• Become contributing authors for the funding opportunities of innovative grants for a Parental Information and Resource Center where funding has been allocated by the State of North Carolina.
• Evaluating and contributing possible action steps for family and community education and engagement plans for support for CSI-designated schools eligible for supplemental, competitive grant for school improvement and transformation.
• Identify systems of support that can be provided to Title I Schools to improve student achievement and school processes and culture that can be supported and investigated further by the Title I Department.
• Review and provide revised suggestions for the Title I Board Policy in accordance to ESSA requirements.
• Review and provide feedback to district capacity building outputs and outcomes (i.e.; Family and Community Learning Academy, Connected Community Education Alliance, and Family Academic Visual Engagement (FAVE).
• Be informed advocates to support and assist in making decisions concerning local, state, and federal funding (e.g. applications, requests and plans) that has a direct impact on schools with high concentrations of students/families experiencing economic hardship or in poverty.

Participants included:
Dr. Stacey Clark, Principal of Renaissance West STEAM Academy

Ms. Ruby Houston and Ms. Jamese Pinkston, Community Engagement Managers

Mr. Kelly Price, Executive Director of Federal Programs

Dr. Fahnie Shaw, Director of Title I Family Engagement and Community Outreach

Get the checklist here: Your School Checklist

Interested in learning more? Learn more by visiting our My School, My Voice website at www.myschoolsmyvoice.nea.org.

We are excited to be working together to support our students’ public schools and communities!

CMAE Presents Chartering the "APPStacle Course" of Digital Learning by Dr. Govan-Hunt

Chartering the "APPStacle Course" of Digital Learning 

Incorporating digital learning into everyday lessons can seem like an "obstacle course". We will visit several types of learning, make it plain, and explore Apps that will be easy to navigate using the Chromebooks since that is the general piece of equipment CMS uses in the classroom. Participants will earn 1 CEU with the completion of post training activities. This is a FREE event for members and $20 for non-members.

Register Here

When: Saturday December 14, 2019

Time: 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Location: Newell Elementary, 325 Rocky River Road West, Charlotte, NC 28213

 Space is limited, please register early!

Register Here  for the opportunity to earn 1 Digital Learning Credit 

Dr. Govan-Hunt earned her Bachelor's degree from Claflin University in Child Development where she took on a second major in History. She attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio where she earned a Master's in Education in Curriculum & Instruction and a Specialty in Teaching. During her research assistantship at Bowling Green State University she taught reading and writing at Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio. She served as a 5th grade teacher in an alternative school in Toledo and as a part-time preschool teacher for four year old children at a Marazon preschool.

Serving in so many different levels of education helped her really understand and witness the importance of a solid early childhood foundation as well as the importance of parental support and advocacy.

After taking up residency in the Queen City she served as a site coordinator for the Dell Curry Foundation, a high school challenge tutor for Communities in Schools, and an assistant director for Wesley Child Development Center. She then found a home as a child development specialist with one of the lead resource and referral agencies in the area. That is where she fostered her love for helping affect change in the early care and education community. Work done in the field encouraged her to earn a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education at Walden University and open an early education consulting agency, Govan-Hunt Staff Development, LLC & Critical Curriculum Consulting, in 2011.

She takes pride in learning how systems work and how culture and cultural competency drives many of these systems. Her research and passion for under-represented children, youth, and communities have allowed her to present at various national conferences such as Smart Start, NAECY, NBCDI, and NAA.

Dr. Hunt is a member of Uplift Christian Ministries where she manages community outreach efforts. She is president of the Mecklenburg Child Care Association, the President the National Black Child Development Institute- Charlotte, and a board member (Family Program Committee Chairperson) for Charlotte Bilingual Preschool. For the past 2 years she served as a chair person of the Ready for School committee with Read Charlotte and the Chair Person for the Kindergarten Ready team during the implementation phase of the project; an effort to double the percentage of children reading on grade level by the end of third grade by 2025.. She assisted in creating the framework and launch for the Data Collaborative focused on gathering literacy data for early care and education programs in Mecklenburg County. She played a critical part in designing the Innovative Classroom at Charlotte Bilingual preschool.

Dr. Hunt was a participant in the feasibility study looking at the ways in which universal pre-k can become reality in Mecklenburg County. She is also a leader on the Pathways Design Team focusing on high quality early education programs and literacy.

Hunt believes that she was created to serve children, families, and communities.  She says, “I can truly say that my genuine belief is that I am exercising my purpose in life. My goal is the help bridge the gaps between home, school, and the community by connecting and growing support systems through parental education and advocacy”.

Register to attend CMAE's Digital Learning PD: Chartering the “APPStacle Course”

Space is limited, please register early! 

Register Here  

Chartering the "APPStacle Course" of Digital Learning 

Incorporating digital learning into everyday lessons can seem like an "obstacle course". We will visit several types of learning, make it plain, and explore Apps that will be easy to navigate using the Chromebooks since that is the general piece of equipment CMS uses in the classroom. Participants will earn 1 CEU with the completion of post training activities. This is a FREE event for members and $20 for non-members.

Register Here

When: Saturday December 14, 2019

Time: 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Location: Newell Elementary, 325 Rocky River Road West, Charlotte, NC 28213

Elected officials serve as "Educators for a Day" to honor American Education Week

N.C. Rep. Christy Clark

To honor American Education Week as "Educators for a Day," seven elected officials serving Charlotte and Mecklenburg County worked with CMAE members in their schools on Thursday. CMAE Vice President Margueritta Brown consulted with CMAE Association Representatives in several schools to coordinate the officials' visits.

"Educators for a Day" included the following:

CMS Board of Education member Thelma Byers-Bailey worked with CMAE Association Representative Rodrin Spell at Westerly Hills Elementary School.

N.C. Rep. Christy Clark worked with CMAE Association Representative Wanda Butler at Torrence Creek Elementary School.

N.C. Rep. Wesley Harris worked with CMAE Association Representative Sherlene Sharpless at Ballantyne Elementary School.

N.C. Rep. Brandon Lofton worked with CMAE Association Representative Erinn Hayes at Olde Providence Elementary School.

N.C. Rep. Nasif Majeed worked with CMAE Association Representative Arnetha Perkins at Briarwood Elementary School.

N.C. Rep. Nasif Majeed with cafeteria manager Veronica Bailey

N.C. Sen. Natasha Marcus worked with CMAE Association Representative Dr. Alfreda Reynolds at Wilson STEM Academy.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez McDowell worked with CMAE Association Representative Lula Brown and CMAE member Rita Josiah Gray at Crown Point Elementary School.

Vice President Brown explained that officials participated in a variety of activities during their visits to the schools. Their activities included assisting as reading/math teachers to small groups in several classes; working as instructional assistants; assisting in the school office; checking out students' books in the media center; and assisting with cafeteria workers in serving lunch.

For example, Rep. Clark read a children's book, "Grace Goes to Washington", to three groups of third graders, totaling seven classes during the day. At the end of her visit, Rep. Clark presented the book to Torrence Creek Elementary School Librarian Donna Thompson.

Rep. Clark presents "Grace Goes to Washington" to librarian Donna Thompson.

Refusing to negotiate budget compromise, politicians question legitimacy of teacher's economic need

Know educators who need second or third jobs to make ends meet? Is that your situation? Your state representatives and Senators need to hear those stories.

N.C. Rep. Deb Butler of Wilmington received an email yesterday from a teacher in her legislative district, "describing the ongoing struggle to pay bills, provide for her daughter and feed herself on a teacher’s salary."

Butler posted on her Twitter feed, "I am heartsick and furious! A NC teacher wrote me the most poignant and painful email. She struggles to raise her daughter on her teacher pay. After all is paid, she has virtually nothing for food and gas. Teachers going hungry in NC?"

"Within hours," Butler said later, the communications director for the legislative majority sent her a formal request under the North Carolina Public Records Law for the teacher's communication to the state representative.

Rather than respond privately to the request, Butler publicized the exchange.

She wrote, "What? #ncgop believes my tweet below is fictional and within hours issued a records request to my assistant to see the email I received from the teacher. Well stand by fellas, I have permission to publish it publicly."

She followed that by posting the teacher's communication to her in a series of photographs.

"So there you go records request. #NCteachersgoinghungry #timetonegotiate #teachersaresuffering #idontlie #ncpol #ncdp #iwillnotyield," she concluded.

WECT-TV, a local television news station in Wilmington, picked up the exchange and aired a report on last night's broadcast, posting its report online under the headline, "NC lawmaker produces poignant email from single mother, teacher after GOP rep questions its legitimacy".

The challenge to the legitimacy of the teacher's outreach for aid and counsel offended Butler, she explained to WECT-TV reporter Kendall McGee.

“I was so upset to learn of this teacher’s predicament and then to have the Republican Party communications officer make a records request because he believes I fabricated the story? Well, unlike him, I would never misrepresent the challenges of our teachers. I know they are struggling and it’s time for the Republicans to negotiate a reasonable pay increase for teachers instead of cutting corporate taxes for the seventh time. Anyone who reads her email and isn’t moved, should be ashamed of themselves.” Butler told WECT. “The fact that any teacher in NC is going hungry should upset and despair each and every one of us.”

Especially because it occurred during American Education Week -- an opportunity to recognize and honor the contributions of public school educators across North Carolina and America -- the exchange is noteworthy.

This morning, Butler added this coda: "A NC teacher goes hungry and the GOP reaction is to react with doubt by making a records request of me. That speaks volumes. I will do my best to help this teacher of course, but sadly, #shesnottheonlyone #ncpol #ncdp #notgonnayield"

If you know public school educators or education support personnel who have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, encourage them to tell their stories to their state representative or Senator. Legislators who seek to improve the quality of life for public school employees will appreciate being equipped with as many stories as possible, as such details strengthen their case in debate on pending legislation and budgets.

Contact information, including email addresses, of legislators who represent Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in the General Assembly is found below.

The Honorable Kelly M. Alexander, Jr.
House District 107
Kelly.Alexander@ncleg.net

The Honorable John Autry
House District 100
John.Autry@ncleg.net

The Honorable Chaz Beasley
House District 92
Chaz.Beasley@ncleg.net

The Honorable Mary Belk
House District 88
Mary.Belk@ncleg.net

The Honorable Becky Carney
House District 102
Becky.Carney@ncleg.net

The Honorable Christy Clark
House District 98
Christy.Clark@ncleg.net

The Honorable Carla D. Cunningham
House District 106
Carla.Cunningham@ncleg.net

The Honorable Wesley Harris, PhD
House District 105
Wesley.Harris@ncleg.net

The Honorable Rachel Hunt
House District 103
Rachel.Hunt@ncleg.net

The Honorable Brandon Lofton
House District 104
Brandon.Lofton@ncleg.net

The Honorable Carolyn G. Logan
House District 101
Carolyn.Logan@ncleg.net

The Honorable Nasif Majeed
House District 99
Nasif.Majeed@ncleg.net

The Honorable Rob Bryan
Senate District 39
Rob.Bryan@ncleg.net

The Honorable Jeff Jackson
Senate District 37
Jeff.Jackson@ncleg.net

The Honorable Natasha R. Marcus
Senate District 41
Natasha.Marcus@ncleg.net

The Honorable Mujtaba A. Mohammed
Senate District 38
Mujtaba.Mohammed@ncleg.net

The Honorable Joyce Waddell
Senate District 40
Joyce.Waddell@ncleg.net 


Rep. Deb Butler can be reached at Deb.Butler@ncleg.net.

Celebrate your Education Support Personnel (ESPs) during American Education Week

(Click here to nominate an Education Support Professional in your school for recognition.)

There's a good chance that students who attend schools in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County interact with the work of more education support personnel (ESPs) than they interact with classroom teachers each day.

For some students, those interactions begin with the drivers of school buses, continue with arrival in a school facility that's kept clean and safe by custodial personnel and school resource officers, and finding breakfast prepared by a staff of food service workers. Those drivers, custodians, and cafeteria workers may begin their days before students' alarm clocks ring.

Throughout the school day, students count on the contributions of more ESPs they may never see.

An army of skilled tradespeople -- electricians, plumbers, painters, carpenters -- as well as maintenance workers, groundskeepers, and bus mechanics keep buildings, grounds, and vehicles in good working order.

Clerical staff members -- secretaries, bookkeepers, attendance specialists, and others -- ensure that the school's business records are maintained accurately, transactions are processed in timely and orderly fashion, and correspondence and communications with parents and community partners are managed, all to serve students' needs.

Then there are the ESPs who work hand-in-hand with classroom teachers in delivering instruction and assisting with classroom management: teacher assistants, aides, or para-educators.

Very often, the person who unlocks and opens a school building in the morning, and the person who turns off the lights and secures the building at day's end, is an ESP.

That's why the annual American Education Week includes a special day to recognize and honor the contributions of ESPs in addressing the needs of "the whole student".

CMAE joins in recognizing and honoring ESPs this week, and we invite educators, administrators, parents, and others to help CMAE to bring special attention to ESPs who exceed expectations in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Click here to complete a nomination form to recognize a special parent-volunteer in your school. The form is available for use year-round to recognize ESPs and others in the school environment.

To learn more about what ESPs are thinking about, feeling, and doing in public schools across America, click here.

Kim Tuttle illustrates "the power of words" at NCAE's first BTOP Summit in Charlotte

CMAE hosted NCAE's first BTOP Summit of the 2019-20 school year on Saturday at Newell Elementary School.

CMAE member Amanda Camacho, a CMS middle-grades Spanish teacher who served on the planning committee, opened the Summit by describing the event series as "a way to help early-career educators to network, and to learn from meaningful professional development."

NCAE and its BTOP organizing committees across the state will host trainings, socials, and special events through the year, she said.

Camacho urged Summit participants to consider participating in early-career labs, "a support system offered through virtual learning labs," she said. These labs "pair an early-career teacher with virtual coaches to work on a selected problem for nine weeks."

"During those nine weeks, you'll meet online with people across the nation for one hour weekly," she explained. "At the end of that period, you can continue past nine weeks on the same problem if you choose, or you choose a new problem to address collaboratively."

Sessions offered at the first BTOP Summit included Teacher Evaluations, Trauma-Informed Strategies, Classroom Management, Understanding Equity, and True Colors.

The 2020 Nomination Forms Are Now Available as Google Documents

The CMAE Nomination Forms are now available as a Google Document. Please make your nominations for the 2020 NCAE Convention Delegate, 2020 CMAE Executive Board Representative and/or the 2020 NEA Convention Delegate. Please pay attention to the additional requirements for the CMAE Executive Board Nomination and NEA Convention Nomination. To access the 2020 Nomination Forms link, please click here.

This nomination form is designed for use to nominate CMAE Members for local, state, and national representation opportunities according to the following criteria:

1. Nominations are now open for the Executive Board (each require a full 3 year term for 2020-2023:
(1) Middle School Representative and (1) Elementary Representative.

2. Nominations close at 5:00 p.m. on January 7, 2020 (including all required documents).

3. Members may nominate themselves or may be nominated by other members. Nominees for CMAE Executive Board Representative and NEA Convention Representative, please include a professional photograph of yourself and a brief biography (current assignment, years of experience in education, participation/service in NEA/NCAE/CMAE). Please send this information to the CMAE Administrative Assistant, Ira LaVerne Reed, by fax (980) 237-9161 or by email (cmae.ira@bellsouth.net), hand-deliver or mail to the CMAE office at 4523 Park Road, Suite 102A, Charlotte, NC 28209.

4. A member is defined as having fulfilled their dues obligation for the 2019-2020 school year.

5. If you have questions, call the CMAE office at (704) 370-1015.
Nominees (or nominators) are encouraged to verify receipt of nomination by calling the office.

Pizza and karaoke with CMAE on Wednesday, November 20

We're hosting a social during American Education Week and you are invited!

Wear your Red4Ed, and bring your singing voice, because karaoke's involved.

It's a FREE event for CMAE members, but we need to know if YOU'RE COMING.

Registration includes pizza, appetizers, and soft drinks.

RSVP by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 18.

8.2.0 Pizzeria

820 Hamilton Street, Suite A3

Charlotte

Wednesday, November 20

5:30 - 8 p.m.

Questions? Call CMAE at 704-370-1015

Nominate a special parent-volunteer for recognition by CMAE

On Tuesday, November 19, CMAE celebrates the incalculable investments made by parent-volunteers in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, and it invites CMAE members to nominate individual parent-volunteers for special recognition.

Exceptional parent-volunteers can have direct, positive impact on the effectiveness of instruction and learning in schools, and such parents aid school administrators and classroom educators in Charlotte Mecklenburg School every day.

Complete CMAE's ESSA checklist before November 22 to win breakfast for YOUR school

CMAE will bring breakfast to the CMS schools whose educators complete the largest percentage of  ESSA checklists by the last day of American Education Week (AEW).

AEW is celebrated November 18-22, next Monday through Friday. Responses collected from educators online will be used by CMAE and NCAE to create action plans, and to seek resources to meet pressing needs.

ESSA is the "Every Student Succeeds Act, the current iteration of the federal law first passed in 1965 and known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Designed for revision at regular intervals, ESEA has been renamed several times, with each new version reflecting the priorities of Congress and the administration in office at the time. During the past 40 years, it has been known as the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA, 1981), the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Act (ESSIA, 1988), the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA, 1994), and No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001). NCLB was due for re-authorization in 2007 but the process was stalled by Congressional gridlock until 2015, when ESSA was negotiated and signed into law.

Monthly CMAE Association Representative meetings will be held at the YWCA on Park Road

Beginning November 21, CMAE's monthly Association Representative meeting will be held at YWCA of the Central Carolinas, 3420 Park Road. The location is one mile from CMAE's office at 4523 Park Road.

CMAE President Lawrence Brinson said the YWCA location offers a comfortable, modern meeting space that will accommodate all of CMAE's Association Representatives, and more room for catering and other meeting needs.

CMAE members are invited to attend the AR meeting in the new location on November 21. At that meeting, CMAE will invite a YWCA representative to present an overview of programs and services provided by that organization.

Gunter briefs Retired School Personnel on retirement fund health and influences

Linda Gunter, vice president of North Carolina Retired School Personnel, briefed attendees at the NCRSP Region 3 General Meeting on Tuesday. The meeting was held at South Piedmont Community College in Monroe. NCRSP includes retirees in Anson, Cabarrus, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Gaston, Lincoln, Montgomery, Rowan, Stanly, and Union counties.

Earlier this year, she was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to represent retired teachers and school district employees on the Teachers and State Employees Retirement System (TSERS) Board of Trustees.

While the state retirement system remains one of the best-funded systems in America, several factors weigh upon its health, Gunter explained. The increasing number of retirees who draw benefits from the fund, the decreasing number of public employees contributing to the fund, and the trend of retirees living longer, all impact the projections offered by staff members at the retirement system, in the state Treasurer's Office, and at the legislature.

Those projections govern decisions by legislators to afford cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), which are preferable to one-time "bonuses," she explained. One-time bonuses affect benefits in a single year, but COLAs improve monthly benefits for the rest of a retiree's life. For that reason, it's important that the system remain well-funded.

CMAE voices support for Cooper's veto, urges lawmakers to negotiate

Voicing support for Governor Roy Cooper's veto at a CMAE press conference were (left to right): Courtney Stallman, Amanda Thompson, Melissa Easley, Rep. John Autry, Justin Parmenter, Randolph Frierson, Sen. Jeff Jackson, Sen. Joyce Waddell, Pat Naylor, Winifred Muhammad, and Lakisha Mills.

 CMAE voiced its support for Governor Roy Cooper's veto of a new legislative proposal that would raise some educators' salaries at the expense of others.

In a press conference at the CMAE office, CMAE members Randolph Frierson, Winifred Muhammad, Lakisha Mills, Amanda Thompson, Justin Parmenter, Courtney Stallman, Pat Naylor, and Melissa Easley were joined by Senator Jeff Jackson, Senator Joyce Waddell, and Rep. John Autry.

Representing the CMAE Government Relations Committee, Frierson urged lawmakers to "stand up to bullying, to stand strong for public schools and our students. We ask our elected representatives to stand against dishonest tricks and dishonest bargains that offer dishonest incentives with strings attached and that leave our education support personnel behind."

NCAE, CMAE leaders urge Governor Cooper, legislators to stand strong, keep working

NCAE and CMAE leaders will join Sen. Jeff Jackson and Sen. Joyce Waddell in a press conference at the CMAE office on Friday, November 8, at 4 p.m. to urge Governor Roy Cooper and legislators to stand strong for public school students and educators, and to continue working toward a better budget agreement. CMAE is located at 4523 Park Road, Suite 102.

CMAE invites members to attend the press conference, to show support, and to urge Cooper to reject the latest scheme proposed by the legislative majority.

Strengthen CMAE through the Fall Membership Drive

Celebrate American Education Week with CMAE, November 18-22

During American Education Week, Americans nationwide will join CMAE, NCAE, and NEA in raising awareness about the need to provide every child with a quality public education.

CMAE officers are finalizing plans now for events in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, and details will be posted at the CMAE Bulletin.

Celebrations highlight the importance of bringing together educators, parents, students, and communities in a unified effort to build great public schools. They reflect the collective vision of CMAE, NCAE, and NEA members of calling upon America to provide public school students with quality schools so that they can grow and achieve in the 21st century.

To reinforce American Education Week's themes, each day of the week will spotlight the different people who are critical in building great public schools for the nation's 50 million K-12 students.

American Education Week's celebration days include:

Monday, November 18: Nationwide Kickoff. Across the country, schools will celebrate excellence in education by hosting kickoff events and activities.

Tuesday, November 19: Parents Day. Schools will invite parents into the classroom for a hands-on experience of what the day is like for their child.

Wednesday, November 20: Education Support Professionals Day. Individuals who provide invaluable services to schools are recognized for their outstanding work.

Thursday, November 21: Educator for a Day. Community leaders will be invited to serve as educators to get a glimpse of a day in the life of a school employee.

Friday, November 22: Substitute Educators Day. This day honors the educators who are called upon to replace regularly employed teachers.

2019 CMAE Legislative Breakfast

On Monday, October 28, 2019, the CMAE Government Relations Division hosted the 2019 Legislative Breakfast to Covenant Presbyterian Church. We are so grateful for the NC General Assembly Members, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners, CMS School Board Members and CMAE Officers/Executive Board/Members that attended and participated. 

Linda Gunter will brief retirees on benefits, insurance, COLAs, and the state budget

North Carolina Retired State Personnel (RSP) Vice President Linda Gunter will speak to members of the Charlotte Mecklenburg RSP chapter on Monday, November 11, and deliver a training on the retirement system, health insurance, and cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to members of the NCRSP Region 3 on Tuesday, November 12, at 11 a.m. at South Piedmont Community College, 4209 Old Charlotte Highway, Monroe. Retired state personnel and school district employees who are nearing retirement eligibility are invited to attend.

Gunter is a career-long NCAE member and leader whose advocacy has led her into public service beyond her community in Cary. After teaching social studies at Cary High School in Wake County from 1971 to 2002, she served NCAE as a UniServ Director and Government Relations Specialist from 2005 to 2015. As an active and retired leader in NCAE, Gunter is a past vice president of Wake NCAE, and past president of Wake Retired School Personnel.

In her career outside the classroom, Gunter served as president of the South Raleigh Civitan Club, and president of the Democratic Women of Wake County. She voted as a Presidential Elector in 2008, and she presently serves on the North Carolina Democratic Party's State Executive Committee. In 1992, she was elected to a term in the North Carolina Senate.

Register to attend three remaining dates in CMAE Leadership Development Academy

Three training dates remain in CMAE's "Leadership Development Academy" series, and members are encouraged to register to attend. The schedule of remaining dates, and a description of each training module, is found below. Each module in the series will only be offered once under this grant.

Please click here to register and indicate your commitment to attend the training dates. Register to attend any dates that you can commit to attend.

The trainings will be delivered in the Media Center at Kannapolis Middle School, 1445 Oakwood Avenue, Kannapolis. Each training date will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude by 1:30 p.m., and lunch will be provided.

November promises a busy month for CMAE

Candidate recommendations approved by CMAE Association Representatives

CMAE officers and Government Relations Committee members pause with recommended candidates for CMS Board of Education following the monthly meeting of CMAE Association Representatives in October. From left to right are (front row) CMAE Secretary Lakisha Mills, candidates Elyse Dashew and Lenora Shipp, and committee member Amanda Thompson; (second row) CMAE President Lawrence Brinson, candidates Monty Witherspoon and Stephanie Sneed, and committee members Jennifer Anderson and Phyllis Washington. Municipal elections will be held November 5, 2019.

Public officials, candidates to attend "Educational Issues Breakfast" on October 28

CMAE's Government Relations Committee will host a Legislative Breakfast on Monday, October 28, at the Covenant Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 100 East Morehead Street, from 9 to 11 a.m. CMAE members are invited to attend.

The Mecklenburg County legislative delegation (members of the state House and Senate representing residents of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) have been invited to the breakfast, as well as members of the Mecklenburg County Commission and the CMS Board of Education.

Committee members will introduce CMAE's four recommended candidates for the CMS Board. Earlier this month, the committee interviewed nine candidates for the three at-large board seats, and asked general and specific issues around advocacy and policy-making which impacts public education in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and North Carolina.

Based upon candidates' responses and its deliberations, the committee recommended candidates Elyse Dashew, Lenora Shipp, Stephanie Sneed, and Monty Witherspoon to CMAE Association Representatives at their monthly meeting on October 17. The CMAE Executive Board approved the recommendations.

Current officeholders and the recommended candidates will have opportunities to speak and to answer questions from members in attendance.

Committee chairs and members also plan to review CMAE's and NCAE's legislative agenda for 2019-20, and to discuss developments from the current biennial session.

Register: CMAE BTOP Summit for early-career educators, November 16

CMAE's Beginning Teacher Organizing Program (BTOP) is sponsoring a Summit for early-career educators -- those with fewer than five full years in the classroom -- on November 16 in Charlotte. The Summit will be held at Newell Elementary School, 325 Rocky River Road West, Charlotte. (This is the same location where the Regional Association Representative Training was held on September 7.)

Educators in CMS and surrounding districts who have completed fewer than five full years in the classroom are invited to register. Use this form to register by November 12.

CMAE President Lawrence Brinson has announced that CMS Teacher of the Year Kim Tuttle will speak to attendees, and more guest speakers may be announced soon. Vendors, including school supply companies and local businesses, will be on-site to describe various products and services.

Several sessions have been planned for educators with specific interests. These sessions will be rotated and are offered more than once, to allow participants to attend up to three.

Sessions already named include the following:
- Blended Learning
- Trauma Informed
- Classroom Management
- Vocabulary Instruction
- Teacher Evaluations
- Fun for Math
- True Colors
- Strategies for Resilience
- Working with EC Students

After completing the registration, educators are urged to share the notice with other early-career educators at your school.

Members are invited to serve on CMAE committees

CMAE is expanding its outreach to members who wish to participate in the organization's leadership.

President Lawrence Brinson invites all CMAE members to consider serving on one of the organization's several standing and special committees. Standing committees are perennial committees named in the CMAE Constitution and By-Laws, and special committees are those created by the President and/or the Executive Board to address specific tasks and topics.

Some committees meet as often as monthly, others on a less-frequent regular basis. Current standing and special committees include the following:

- Communications and Public Relations Committee- Constitution and By-Laws Committee
- Early Educators Committee
- Education Support Personnel Committee
- Elections Committee
- Government Relations Committee
- Grievances Committee
- Just Schools Committee- Leadership Development Committee
- Membership Committee
- Organizing Committee
- Student Services Committee

If you are interested in serving on any of these, indicate your interest to CMAE officers by completing the interest survey here. Officers will contact you with more details.

Government Relations Committee will recommend candidates to CMAE

Earlier this month, members of CMAE's Government Relations Committee interviewed nine of 13 candidates for the three at-large seats on the Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board. (Eleven candidates accepted the committee's invitation to interview, but two of these couldn't or didn't attend.) Candidates were asked about general and specific issues around advocacy and policy-making which impacts public education in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and North Carolina.

After careful deliberation, and based upon candidates' responses, the Committee will issue to CMAE's monthly meeting of Association Representatives its recommendations of Elyse Dashew, Lenora Shipp, Stephanie Sneed, and Monty Witherspoon.

Association Representatives will meet Thursday, October 17, at the CMAE office.

According to Chairwoman Winifred Muhammad, committee members applied several criteria in weighing the candidates, their records and positions, and their responses to members' questions. Among the criteria were these priorities:

Register now for CMAE's Leadership Development Academy

A grant has allowed CMAE to develop and host a "Leadership Development Academy," a series of eight training modules on five dates during the next three months. The schedule of dates, and a description of each training module, is found below. Each module in the series will only be offered once under this grant.

PLEASE NOTE that the first of the five training dates is this Saturday, October 19.

Because of material costs associated with some of the modules, participation is limited to 25 CMAE members. (Additional NCAE members will be invited from other local affiliates.)

We hope you'll participate, but seating is limited. Please click here to register and indicate your commitment to attend the training dates. The eight modules are part of a total training package, and those members who are able to attend all five of the training dates will earn a certificate that reflects your completion of the CMAE Leadership Development Academy. However, please register to attend any dates that you commit to attend, and we will extend invitations to other members to ensure that we get maximum participation and meet the grant's objectives.

The trainings will be delivered in the Media Center at Kannapolis Middle School, 1445 Oakwood Avenue, Kannapolis. Each training date will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude by 1:30 p.m., and lunch will be provided.

Association Representatives will meet Thursday

CMAE Association Representatives will convene their monthly meeting at the CMAE office on Thursday, October 17, at 5 p.m. Dinner will be available beginning at 4:30 p.m., and grade-level divisions will meet during dinner.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Harden is expected to present information about the pending sales-tax referendum. Committee chairs will offer other reports and presentations.

CMAE members are invited to attend. CMAE is located at 4523 Park Road, Suite 102.

Nhatisha Sturgis: “I care about them and their differences.”

Originally from Norwalk, Connecticut, I moved in 1999 to Greenville, North Carolina after a tour in the U.S. Navy. I completed studies in Social Work at Barton College in Wilson, NC. The paternal side of my family still lives in Connecticut, and the maternal side resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

In 2010, my children and I moved to Charlotte, and we love it here. I’ve served Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools for a total of eight years, including my experience as a long-term substitute in a middle-school science class, and as a financial secretary assistant. For the past four years, I’ve been a full-time teacher in the AU self-contained program at Oakdale Elementary.

I’m a single mother; two of my five children attend college, one attends high school and struggles with academics due to her autism, one attends middle school, and one has just begun kindergarten.

Before moving to Charlotte, I never saw myself as an educator, as my passions lay in behavioral health and social work. When it was difficult to find employment in social services, I began working as a substitute teacher and encountered children in middle grades who couldn’t read, or even add two-digit numbers. I used some strategies that I’d used with my children at home, and they worked for these students.

I found that my students wanted to work when they realized that I care about them and their differences. How could I not want to help create structure for, and teach, children who will be our future? As I began to see more students with special needs, who hadn’t been correctly placed and who struggled like my daughter, I knew I wanted to help, even if my help was minute.

One of my students couldn’t speak, couldn’t even attempt to verbalize a word. We practiced with mouth movements every day, and when that student began to say, “Mom,” I knew this was the right place for me. 

Another one of my students couldn’t name colors, and rarely spoke. But when I taught a lesson on tornadoes, he understood it, and began coming to school every day asking, “Where is the tormadoes (spellers how he said it)?”

More examples like these reinforce that I’m in the right place and doing the right thing.

I’m new to CMAE, so I’ve not had direct interaction with my professional organization yet, but I want to become an integral part, and be able to support other educators.

#phenomenallyurs